Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Whenever there is a race, my Facebook wall will be flooded by the related pictures.

2 years ago, I would be very impressed if one told me that he ran a half marathon. Or 10km.

I would never in my mind imagine that I could repeat the same thing for that long.

I mean, how many steps is a complete set of run constitute of?

Maximum, 4.

1. Left leg steps forward, while right hand holding a fist with a 90-degree elbow punching a little upward. Lift right leg backward. A little.

2. Hops a little. By a little, I mean very little. Less than one second.

3. Right leg steps forward, while left hand holding a fist with a 90-degree elbow punching a little upward, an simultaneously, right hand reverts to the original position. Lift left leg backward. A little.

4. Hops. Repeat step 1.

It sounds very complicated, isn't it?

Trust me. It's easy.

You just gotta try these four steps.

And for a half marathon, if you going at my pace, you repeat this 4 steps for 180 minutes. I can complete 1 set in 1 second (no, you really don't have to be impressed). So in 1 minute, I will be doing 60 sets. In order to complete 21kms, I will be doing roughly 10,800 sets.

10,000 of the same steps.

Be impressed with my patience and my endurance.

*reads from the beginning.

Face palm.*

I hope that you are able to comprehend my sarcasm.

Anyway, there goes my introduction.

I started running last year.

This year, my boy joined me too.

So did Goh.

You know what happened last year?

Goh, a very competitive person, called me up at my last km, wanted to know my whereabouts.

He was very shocked when he got to know that I joined the half marathon as he only ran for 10km.

So, he had got no chance to compare.

This year, he is getting slightly smarter thus confirming the category I would be going for, and joined the same one.

So, the reason Goh ran was to compare with myself. Or Clement. Or any other individuals he personally know of.

He relies on others to boost his confidence. In achieving something, he needs a kick on his ass.

This is his reason of running.

Oh by the way, Goh is a good person. (after all the bitching??)

Mine is quite shallow too.

Like Goh, I am a competitive person too.

The difference between Goh and myself is that I am competing with myself.

I quote myself.

You are winning because you broke your own record. No because you broke mine.

Yeap. Quite a lousy quote but still..

I didn't get to win this round.
Sigh it's kind of expected.Being a student is usually more luxurious when it comes to time utilisation.

Alright.Off the shallow reasons.Now let's go to those which brought me to tears.

This.

Jessica's caption:

Look, Bigo! Ma did it!

Quite obvious, Bigo is Jessica's dog. A beagle.A beagle which left her due to fatal disease.

My eyes welled when I saw this picture.

Congrates Jessica. You did it for Bigo. =)

Clement also ran for a reason. A heavy and meaningful one too.

The complexion difference wasn't due to foundation or powder.

And you are thinking that I am praising myself.

Tsk tsk. So judgmental.

Yes, I was the one who made him believe that he could run a half marathon race. (Woooooooo.....),but I was not the core reason of him finishing the race.

He too, ran for his friend. His highschool mate whom he has known for more than a decade.

And yes, you've guessed it.
His highschool mate who has passed away in a motor-vehicle accident.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

The heavy electric gate drags itself aside, making an exit for the girl and the dog.

The girl, invariably dressed up.
She usually appears in one-pieced dress, and a pair of flippers which looks totally out of place.
Sometimes she will be spotted in short A-lined skirts, with the blouse or the shirt tucked in, attempting to pull out the quirky look.

The dog, a Shih Tzu.
He is not overweight, but those fluffy hair gives the impression of otherwise.
He has a small bunch of coconut-leaves like hair over his head, thanks to his owner.
Oh by the way, he doesn't look very intelligent.
Well, how smart can he be when he ranks 70th among other breeds when it comes to working/obedience intelligence?

The duo doesn't make much of noise when they walk together.

Sometimes, when the girl feels fat, she would exclaim 'come Carpy!' in a very high pitch, and starts running.
The fluffy creature would then run after her.

Sometimes, when the fluffy creature steps into some prohibited area, say, neighbours' front yard garden,
the girl pulls up an angry look, and says 'Carpy, no.' in an exceptionally low tone.

As if the dog can see her face when he is busy marking his territory.
As if the dog can understand that low tone implies unhappiness when he is busy peeing.

Then, the girl would pull the strings which tied around the dog, without any hard feeling.
The dog would usually reluctantly follow the girl after some useless struggles.

If it stays stoned, the girl would just scoop the dog up.

Advantage of having a small dog.

'Come Carpy!'
'Carpy, no.'
Tinkling keys.
Tapping paws.
Tapping feet.

The midnight cacophony.
Too soft to form noise pollution,
but too loud to be ignored by the curious souls.

Every single night, without fail.

And then.

At the front door, the monochrome image of the girl is framed and placed at the entrance.
A white casket is placed in the middle of the front yard.
The girl is resting in the casket, the face is as peaceful as if she had been treated some rejuvenating yogurt facial treatment.

No wreath, the scene looks plain and dull, but this is what she has requested.
She is lying in her comfortable black tee and jeans, and a pair of pumps, as what she has requested.
Not her usual way dressing, but again, her family wants her requests to be obliged.
Some guests wonder, will she ever regret writing this entry in her blog?

Tee and jeans, it's just so not her.

Guests are attempting their best to be happy, again, as requested.
Some are tearing, yet they force a smile on their face when they look through the glass on the casket.

Eleven o'clock.

Crowd is getting thinner.

Spotted at the front yard,
few of her family members,
some of her close friends, her favourite Hamka gang,
her boyfriend.

Yeap, someone has to do the post party clean up.

Half past eleven.

All of the sudden, the dog rushes to the gate, wagging his tails vigorously.
He hops back and forth.

The whole world freezes. People turn their head towards the dog.
Their eyes set on the dog.

As tears roll down her cheek, her sister presses the remote control of the electric gate with her shaky hand.

The heavy electric gate drags itself aside, making an exit for the dog.

It's happening, as usual.

Nothing ever changes.

The crowd tag after the dog, preparing to witness some unbelievable incident.

The fluffy creature rushes out of the gate, as if he is running after something.

Or someone.

Sometimes, the fluffy creature steps into the prohibited area, and before he completes his business,
he backs off.
Reluctantly.
By some invisible force.

From that day on, everyday at eleven thirty sharp,
the family opens the gate for the dog.

'Come Carpy!'
'Carpy, no.'
Tapping paws.
Tinkling keys.

Midnight cacophony goes on.

Every night, without fail.

Slight difference though.
That section of tapping feet has been removed.
Or, it is not played anymore.

Every now and then, even death cannot break the habits.

P/S:
I had this idea of myself passing away when I was walking Carpy.
Yes, 11.30pm.

I enjoy the midnight breeze.
I like the silent street.
It's safe - if you allow me to trust the security guards at both ends of the street.

I do not purposely doll myself up to walk Carpy.
I am usually backed from somewhere, and have not showered yet.

Monday, June 27, 2011

This is just a title inspired by my breakfast buddy of the day, Mei Yi.

Place, click, run and pose.

So we went to Levain Bou.. Pat.. fdjkffdsjkl whatever it is for breakfast.I can't spell it. #getreal

Nah here it is.

It was a rainy Monday Morning. Zeus is the Greek God of Rain, hence the title.

Mei Yi and I were attempting to poeticise the whole session.

Okay okay try to imagine this...

Rattan chairs and square wooden tables,which jazzed up by a cup of cappuccino and a glass of bold cream-colored latte,Accompanied by the cacophony formed with the clinking silver hardware, raindrops against the leaves, chirping birds and giggling friends...

Now close your eyes and take a deep, satisfying breath...

The rich aroma of brewed coffee and fresh-from-oven breads...

Lovely..♥♥♥ Exquisite..♥♥♥

...

*SNAP

Sometimes, we just have to be real.

Let's start from the very beginning.

One, rainy Monday morning in KL, how would you expect the traffic to be??

Sanguine Virgo like us were able to work it through by playing smooth jazz in the car,and observing other drivers(most of them wear poker face but we saw one smart chap utilise his time to pluck moustache).

Two, rattan chairs are beautiful to look at, but if you know that you have to rest on it for some times, don't wear shorts - the neat texture of the surface will just print on your flesh, and the whole world will know that you have been sitting on one.

Smart Virgo like us were also able to work it through by resting only 1/3 of our butts on the chairs. How graceful.

Three, it is a known fact that people of A blood type have the tendency to attract mosquitoes.Exactly.Both of us were wearing shorts, and our smooth, fair, fleshy thighs had become their breakfast table.

Four, flies are common in Malaysia.Why wasn't I surprise to spot them at such a delicate place?

So people, be real.

Upon having breakfast, we went to tapao some breads.

We took the trays.

Circle the display centre.Then detour the display centre.And move around the display centre.

Empty trays. #indecisive Virgo

Then I saw samples.

I waved frantically at Mei Yi, then only I saw that her back was facing me.

My blood carries auntiness.Can't help.

Upon trying, we took the bread that we have tried...and repeat the same circle detour move around cycle again.

Mei Yi said that we looked like the kelefes who were hired to go around the display centre to form the impression that the business is running good.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

See, it just happened few hours ago.The ohm is still lingering around.If I don't write it now,the mood will drain off,then i won't write about it anymore.

Make sense?

Yes.

As titled.

How can I not be proud of myself?

During high school, I have never been the athletic type.I joined St John simply because I didn't want to be involved in any kinds of sports.Yes, I would rather spending hours in marching and standing still in the senang diri position than to run, or jump.

Listen to me, I have valid reasons.

I used to get involved in sports activities as well.

*look far, as in going down to memory lane*

I remember, on that significant day, I was practising for hurdles race.Then, I couldn't approach the 3rd or 4th barrier.

Guess what happened?

I hit my vahjayjay against the barrier.

....

Well, if you are a guy, and have your crotch get kneed or kicked, you might understand.

...

No, that's not the end of the story.

The competition hasn't started yet.

I still have to go on.

Yea yea there should be a backup for me because man, I suffered serious injury!!

But still, I had no idea why I had to go on.

In the end, the teacher lowered all the barriers so that I could go for the race.The other competitors should thank me for that.

So I was able to clear all the barriers, complete the race, with tears all over my face.

Others who didn't get to witness the incident must be wondering:Need to be so touched or not?? 200m hurdles only ma....

No, they didn't understand.Of course.

So,you see,How can I not be phobic???

Then, some 10 years later, I got an Iphone 4.

(Man, this is like... totally irrelevant)

No, listen to me.Stop interrupting me.

I downloaded this application named 'iMapMyRun'.Basically, it's a tracker.Being an ulu who had never seen such canggih stuff before,I was amazed by its function:

Oh!!! It can track the route I have run!Oh!!! It knows my distance of running!Oh!!! It can show me my pace!!Oh!!! I can even know the calories burned!!!

-____________-

Uber Ulu right??

Don't mind the Uluness....

It was this application that get me serious into running.

I started to explore new routes.I started to beat my own pace.I started to extend my running time.

That was where I started.

I could accept 2kms.

4kms was tiring.

7kms was a killer.I completed it, but it was the hardest task I had ever accomplished.

And today, I ran 21kms.

It wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be.

I had been very chirpy on twitter, whining about how nervous I was last night.I was afraid that I couldn't complete the route.Man, I had never run 21kms before!!!21kms, can you imagine??This distance of traveling back and forth from my place, which is in Cheras, to my college, which is ATC at Petaling Street, is ngam ngam 21kms.

It's very long okay???

But no fear.My friends have been feeding me with moral supports.(only if I can survive by that...)My grandma even made me ginseng so that I don't short of breath. #sweet #practical

And there it goes.

6.15am in the morning.I was in the middle of the crowd.Yes, other runners were blocking my way -which, to my surprise, was an advantage to me.

So I tended to jog just because I couldn't run fast as usual.Little baby, rapid steps.

Inhale through nose, 8 steps.

Exhale through mouth, 8 steps.

Hello.

Occasionally, when the playlist played the songs I favour, I smiled.I can smile through the whole song you know.And to others, I understand that it's rather creepy smiling to myself.

But who cares?

So I set the runners as targets of overtaking.

'Okay, the woman with sheer purple top,'Overtaken.

'Next, the man with long pants.'Overtaken.

'Then, the botak.'Overtaken.

That was how I kept myself running.

You know what's the best part?

Usually when I run on the highway, I have to watch out for the vehicles.Today, most of the roads were blocked for us. #queen

I know, I know. I can sense the impatient dead cold stares of the drivers.

Oh by the way. #abrupt

Almost elbow someone while taking this picture. Sorry, that someone.

Every now and then,there were volunteers standing by the roadside,supposedly cheering for us.Nevertheless, some of the volunteers looked so sour!!Expressionless!!

Understandable though.They had been standing for hours and they were bored.So God sent someone like me to cheer them up, by smiling to them. *syok sendiri*

Not this kind of fake smile though.I flashed them warm and genuine and loving smiles alright?

As you can see, everything went smooth,until I felt the pain on my right knee at this point.Sei.

That would mean... I had to start walking.

I had been jogging, slowly but surely, steadily,but my right knee started to protest.I didn't feel like slowing down, I didn't feel like walking,I feared that once I have started walking,I wouldn't start running anymore. #struggle

My lungs have been working excellently,but...Haih.

I could even feel my ovaries dropping. Inch by inch. #illusion

I thought to myself,well, at least, I have ran the furthest in my life.

'Oi Shang, where are you?''I'm at the 20th km.'*in a belittling tone* 'Har? You haven't finished yet??'*offended*'What do you mean that I haven't finished yet??.... *scolding continue for about 30 seconds or so*''Okay okay I will try to meet you up at the finishing line'

This guy has the tendency to make me angry.If it were others who said so, I wouldn't have been so heated up.Seriously, I am amazed by myself.I mean, I ran for 20kms,and I still have the breath to scold someone while continue running.

*squint eyes*

Don't mess with me.

Anyway, I completed the route.

You know what's the best thing?

I have completed it within the qualifying time.Can see can see???

I estimated myself to finish within 3 hours 30 minutes,and this is much faster than my own estimated time!!

2 hours and 53 minutes!!! #champion .. of self

Lesson: Don't underestimate yourselves. *winningOne more. Just to show that my earrings matches my hair band.While the hair band matches the shirt.*look out of the window*

Oh, it's raining now.Thank you God.

Oh and, thanks to the parents of this pair of sisters who provided transportation.Update: just gotten the picture from Tuan Wern's friend.And just got to know that I ranked 356th among some 955 runners.Gun Time: 2:52:51Net Time: 2:49:11